Abstract:
Menochilus sexmaculatus (Fabricious) is an effective bio-control agent and requires mass rearing them to
use in Augmentation Release. Rearing on natural prey demands the maintenance of plants and aphid
cultures; hence, it is necessary to examine the possibility of mass rearing on artificial diets. The objective
of this study was to examine the possible replacement of natural diet: aphids by cooked chicken liver. M.
sexmaculatus larvae were provided with three different diets: Dllive aphids, D2 Chicken Liver, D3 Chicken
Liver mixed with adult aphids. These three diets were provided to larvae as nine treatments. The survival
rates and development durations of larvae were recorded. Each treatment was replicated 15 times. The
Data were analyzed using One way ANOVA followed by LSD mean separation using Minitab statistical
software. The survival percentage of the larvae varied significantly among the treatments (P<0.05). The
highest survival percentage (94 %) was recorded when the larvae were fed only on aphids. The lowest
survival percentage (10%) was recorded when the larvae reared only on chicken liver diet. The survival
percentage was significantly varied with treatments of L3 and L4 larval stages fed with chicken liver.
Replacement of aphid by chicken liver for L3 and L4 was with a compromise of survival percentage of
larvae. The total larval duration was significantly varied with different diet regimes (P<0.05). The fastest
growth rate was recorded when all larval instars were fed exclusively on aphids. The longest duration was
taken when LI fed on Aphids and other three instars fed on the chicken liver. Chicken liver can be used for
L3 and L4 larval that can be used in mass rearing with a compromise of survival rate.
